Loss
by Murasaki Rose
Summary: Yami no Bakura x Ryou Bakura, shonen-ai. Sequel to Acceptance. What did Ryou go through before the final duel? Battle City and beyond, all through the eyes of the hikari of the Sennen ring.


Author: Murasaki Rose  
email: see profile  
Archive?: Go for it! Just let me know where so I can link ya!

Title: Loss  
Spoilers: Battle City, some memory arc and series end  
Warnings: Shonen-ai, male/male pairing  
Pairings: Yami no Bakura x Ryou Bakura  
A/N: "text" speech, 'text' thought, --text-- telepathy, /text/ hikari to yami mindlink, ::text:: yami to hikari mindlink, ((text)) Ancient Egyptian

Supplement to A/N: First off, if you haven't read Acceptance, you really should. You don't HAVE to, this'll make sense anyway. Second, I must say I was more than a little shocked at how well received Acceptance was.

BIG thank you's to: lola, MotherCHOW Goddess, Eve-Of-Misery, Seto's PuppyDog 16, The Chaotic Ones, Misura, Paniwi, Hikari's-dark-side-08, Inu Kaiba, Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru, & PROTOTYPE Uber Rei Model 00, for reviewing Acceptance!

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::I AM the darkness-::

Cold.

Dark.

Alone.

Alone?!

/Yami?!!/

:: . . . .Yadonushi--:: Faint.

/Dokuda?! Dokuda(1), yami?!!/

A low, rumbling growl permeated the silence and Ryou felt himself being "lifted" by a figure far larger than any human could be. Perched on the creature's hand, he could feel the same warmth he felt when he dueled, spreading throughout his body. Once every fiber literally hummed with this power, the silver-haired duelist could see where he was and "knew" which monster held him. Turning around to see the beast's face, a bright smile graced his features, chocolate eyes sparkling in delight.

Diabound.

The beast of his soul, born millennia ago, when he and his yami were one.

They had the card. But it wasn't time for Diabound to awake just yet. So why . . ?

::Yadonushi!::

/Yami!/

All thoughts of his soul-beast's premature awakening left his mind as the teen leapt out of Diabound's hand and into the arms of his yami. As the two halves embraced, Diabound curled his massive tail around them, while the spirits and demons from their deck surrounded him. They would protect their masters. Anyone else might have been afraid of the host of creatures that surrounded the silver-haired duo. Jonouchi would have been terrified. But both duelists knew they had nothing to fear from their monsters.

Clutching tightly to his dark half, Ryou turned to the spirit for answers. "What happened to us, yami? Why are we in the Shadow Realm?"

Yami no Bakura sighed into Ryou's hair, "We've been separated from the ring, yadonushi. Our only chance at returning rests on the pharaoh's success," the dark one replied, sneering at the thought of relying on his enemy.

Attempting to burrow closer to his yami, the silver-haired teen sighed softly, he'd suspected as much. "And if he loses?"

"We remain here forever," the dark spirit replied, tightening his grip on his light.

Ryou squeezed him back, "I can handle that, as long as I have you."

Yami no Bakura did not reply. He couldn't understand his hikari. The teen just took his explanation without question. Why was the teen so accepting?

/Because I am you and you are me. As much as we are different, so are we alike. And while I may not always condone your actions, I do understand you./

::You are far too forgiving, hikari.::

Ryou chuckled, /With you as my yami, I have to be./

::Brat.::

x-x-x-x-x-x

His ring was here, he could feel it.

Yugi had lied to him.

At first, the idea that his friend had willfully lied to him hurt. But he realized that Yugi was only trying to protect him from the spirit of the ring.

But Ryou didn't need to be protected. Not from his yami.

He wasn't really surprised when his bond with the ring led him to Yugi's room. Inside, on the table sat two items: A scepter-like object, faced with an eye . . . and his Sennen ring (2)

"I found it!"

Smiling to himself, Ryou picked up his ring and placed it around his neck once more. He was thrilled to have it back again, but worried what his friends would say when they saw it. But what they didn't see . . .

Tucking the ring under his shirt, he shivered at the familiar feel of cool gold against his skin. Patting the now-hidden ring, the silver-haired teen made a happy little humming sound, /Glad to be back, yami?/

::More than you realize, hikari,:: the dark spirit purred contentedly.

x-x-x-x-x-x

::HIKARI!!::

The sound of his yami's voice made Ryou's blood freeze in his veins. His yami sounded afraid.

Wasting no time, the silver-haired light closed his eyes and went to his soul room. Before his eyes had fully opened, he was bolting out into the corridor between their minds. Gaping in shock, he stared numbly at the sight before him.

Deep cracks split through the walls and floor, as though a great earthquake had struck. Black shadows were crawling everywhere, seemingly growing in number, and the door . . . the door to his yami's soul room was broken. The thick stone door, which bore the image of the Sennen eye had been shattered by some great force.

/YAMI!!!!/

Worried beyond common sense, the teen darted into his other's soul room, guided only by his steadily weakening link.

s-c-e-n-e-c-h-a-n-g-e

((He is coming.))

((You will not have him!)) Yami no Bakura snarled. The dark spirit had been fighting a losing battle for some time now. Zorc Necrophadius had finally decided to take full control of both sides of the Thief King, starting his the yami. The dark spirit was bound tightly in a mass of black shadows. Only his head remained clear and soon even that would be swallowed.

Once that happened, the yami would be unable to protect his hikari from the demon that had deceived him.

((So you say . . .))

Ignoring Zorc's taunts, the dark spirit pooled together his remaining power. He had to protect his hikari at any cost!

"Let him go!"

Yami no Bakura's head snapped up at the sound of his other's voice. The teen was forcing his way towards him, uncaringly putting himself in great danger. Reaching the dark one, Ryou buried his arms into the black mass swallowing his yami. Finding the spirit's arms, Ryou held tight and began to pull, ignoring the shadows curling around his arms and legs.

Laughing, Zorc mocked the hikari's efforts. "Little fool. You make things far too easy for me."

::Run, yadonushi!::

/IIE!! I won't leave you!/

::RUN!!!:: Using the last of his power, yami no Bakura sent his light back to his own soul room.

/YAMI!/ Getting up from where he'd landed, Ryou ran to his door and found that he could not open it. His other had sealed it. Screaming in pain and fear, Ryou pounded on the door with all his strength. His yami was in danger! He HAD to get to him!!

Sobbing now, the teen continued to pound at the door with all his strength until exhaustion brought him down.

s-c-e-n-e-c-h-a-n-g-e

Eyelids fluttering as consciousness returned, Ryou groaned softly. He was back in his body.

--Finally awake, little hikari . . ?--

Ryou's head shot upright. That voice . . . it sounded like his dark half, but it wasn't him. /You're not my yami!!/

--You can tell can you?--

/GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!/ Bolting out of his apartment, he started to run. Somewhere, anywhere-

--You can't escape me anymore than you could him.--

/What did you do to him?!/ A church. Maybe there . . .

--He sleeps within me, as will you.--

/NANI?!/ Empty. Surely a priest-?

--YOU will be the one to open the gates of darkness. Ushering in MY reign!--

/NOOOOO!!!!!!!!/ Glass shattering everywhere, forcing him to duck-

--You have no choice!--

The candles blew out and as darkness engulfed the church, Ryou Bakura knew no more.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Daijoubu ka, Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked, amethyst eyes filled with concern. His yami said that Bakura had been under Zorc's control since Battle City, maybe longer. Now that the memory game had been won, he was free.

"Uhn." Ryou sat up weakly, ignoring the agony of his broken soul. Zorc had been defeated, he would never return. But the price had been steep. His yami.

'_I'm as well as one can be with only half a soul._'

1/16/05

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1 - Where are you?

2 - Based this scene on the one from the manga, issue #278.

Afterword: Yikes. (ducks behind her desk) This ended kinda dark didn't it. Don't worry minna, there's still one piece left before the trilogy is complete, so please put down the pitchforks and the projectiles and keep an eye out for Reconcile, the final piece in the Acceptance trilogy.

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Disclaimer: Here we go. Yu-Gi-Oh and all it's characters are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, Shueisha, Konami, Toei, and unfortunately, 4 Kids Entertainment. I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just having fun. Suing me would be largely pointless as I am just a poor college student that works for the school system.


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